Recovery & Management of Clove Poisoning
Recovery from clove poisoning depends on how much they consumed and how quickly they got treatment. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control estimates that 25% of poisoned animals recover within two hours, but 1 in 100 cases are fatal even with treatment. If your dog was poisoned from clove essential oil, they may need to recover from some burns or skin irritations and try a soft food diet for a while. Be sure to ask your vet if any follow-up appointments are necessary. Its wise to keep your pup out of the kitchen when youre cooking with cloves, and avoid diffusing any essential oils that could irritate them.
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Cost of treating clove poisoning in dogs: $200-$3000
Clove Poisoning in Dogs Average Cost
From 1231 quotes ranging from $200 – $3,000
Is it Safe for Dogs to Eat Cloves?
Clove isn’t regarded as safe for dogs to eat, especially in high quantities. But why is this?
The main reason is that clove contains an active ingredient called eugenol. While this substance may have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, it’s known to be toxic to dogs, and even more so for cats, who can suffer from liver toxicity.
It’s not known at what quantities eugenol becomes a serious problem for your dog. It’s best to avoid feeding anything containing cloves, just to be on the safe side.
The only scientific reference we currently have is from a rather barbaric toxicity study that was conducted in the 1950s to determine dangerous levels of eugenol in dogs. Sadly, this draconian experiment resulted in two dogs dying. This was, however, after they were forced to ingest extremely high quantities of the substance.
So, if your dog manages to steal a piece of pumpkin pie from the table – don’t panic. Given there won’t be large quantities of clove in one piece, it’s not likely to cause major harm to your dog, except for perhaps a bit of an upset tummy! Of course, if there are other dangerous ingredients in the pie, such as nutmeg, then this could be a different matter.
Even so, if your dog does manage to consume clove, you should seek veterinary advice. Providing them with an accurate description of how much clove was used in the recipe, if you can, would also be helpful to assess the risk.
Essential oils are growing in popularity as alternative treatments for humans and dogs. Unfortunately, some essential oils can be toxic to dogs, especially if administered incorrectly or in the wrong dosage.
There’s an incorrect idea that anything natural must be safe, but this isn’t the case. You should always do your research before using essential oils with your dog, and, if you’re unsure, seek the advice of a qualified vet.
Just like the spice, clove oil is an essential oil that isn’t recommended for use on or around dogs. You should also avoid diffusers containing clove, as it’s not easy to tell how much eugenol they contain.
In fact, care should be taken when using any diffuser in a home with dogs. Strong diffusers can be overpowering for your dog, with their sensitive sense of smell. Some oils in diffusers can also be toxic to dogs if inhaled, leading to a variety of potentially dangerous side effects.
Note: Cats can be even more sensitive to diffusers. They also shouldn’t be used around domestic birds, who have delicate respiratory tracts.
You’ve seen the advertisements – use essential oils to relax and soothe sore muscles; heal skin conditions; fight the cold and flu; alleviate pain; improve digestion. Essential oils are utilized as insecticides, in aromatherapies, personal care products and more. This may be well and good for human consumption. But what about our pets?
Cats suffering such symptoms need to be moved immediately into fresh air, and require emergency veterinary treatment should their symptoms not quickly resolve once they are in fresh air. Cats with pre-existing respiratory issues such as asthma, airborne allergies, or cats exposed to second hand smoke from their human companions, are at greater risk for developing severe respiratory irritation than cats without such conditions.
Then you have active essential oil diffusers where actual microdroplets or particles of oil are emitted into the air in addition to the pleasant aroma of the oil. These include Nebulizing diffusers and ultrasonic diffusers. These droplets may collect on your cat’s fur where it might be ingested or even absorbed into the skin.
As noted by Pet Poison Helpline, essential oils that are known to cause poisoning in cats include oil of wintergreen, oil of sweet birch, citrus oil (d-limonene), pine oils, Ylang Ylang oil, peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, pennyroyal oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil. Symptoms that develop depend on the type of oil involved in the exposure and can include drooling, vomiting, tremors, ataxia (wobbliness), respiratory distress, low heart rate, low body temperature, and liver failure.
Essential oils can pose a toxic risk to household pets, especially to cats who groom themselves constantly. Essential oils are rapidly absorbed both orally and across the skin after which they are metabolized by the liver. The danger to cats is they lack and an essential enzymes in their liver, therefore they have difficulty metabolizing and eliminating certain toxins including essential oils.
Clove Oil Benefits and Uses
As pet owners, we often worry about how the products we use in our homes impact the health and well-being of our pets. Essential oils are natural but we may be worried that the wrong essential oil can trigger a negative reaction in our pets. However, aromatherapy can be just as beneficial to our companion animals as it is for ourselves. So if you are worried about using essential oils around your pets or are curious about the benefits of essential oils for your pets, here is a simple guide that can help answer your questions.